


Somebody Loves You for Yourself

by makebelieveanything



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon Background for Andrew and Neil, Fluff, Jean and Jeremy aren't exy players, M/M, brief mention of canon background, otherwise its just fluff and more fluff, retirement vacation, wedding crashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:16:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24581425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makebelieveanything/pseuds/makebelieveanything
Summary: Neil and Andrew spend their first spring without Exy on a vacation in Vermont where they get to relax, rest, and do their best to avoid paparazzi while accidentally crashing a wedding.
Relationships: Jeremy Knox/Jean Moreau, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 9
Kudos: 137
Collections: AFTG Exchange Spring 2020





	Somebody Loves You for Yourself

**Author's Note:**

> AFTG Spring Exchange fic for [imaginedmelody](https://imaginedmelody.tumblr.com). Hope you enjoy, I tried to include a multitude of the things you requested! 
> 
> Huge thank you to [justadreamfox](https://justadreamfox.tumblr.com) for the beta. All existing errors are my own!
> 
> I'm a fluffy cupcake, so this is sweet, fluffy, springtime fun.

The Maserati purred just like one of Andrew’s sleeping cats as he parked in front of the stunning, dark-wood paneled two-story cabin in Vermont. The golden hues of sunset filtered through the trees and around the cabin, sparkling off the lake that was partially visible behind an open veranda wrapping around the entire house. Andrew finally shut off the engine, leaving the windows open to invite a slight breeze in to ruffle the hair at the back of his neck, and turned to the passenger seat where Neil was curled up - content to let him sleep a little longer. Neil’s unruly, russet curls brushed along his jaw, having tumbled over his eyes after he’d finally fallen asleep somewhere near the border of Massachusetts. Andrew had not minded in the slightest. 

After 12 years of being a professional athlete, making the US Court team, and even going on to win the Olympics - _twice_ \- Neil deserved the rest. Not that Andrew hadn’t worked hard in those 12 years, always a stalwart presence at Neil’s side, but there was a part of Neil that had never fully let his guard down; had continued to push, and strain, and struggle. Having finally garnered the chance to have a life and experience the world around him, Neil had thrown himself into it like he did everything he’d ever cared about: survival, Exy, the Foxes, _Andrew_.

Finally the pushing, the fighting, the straining to survive, was over. 12 years was not the longest pro career ever accomplished, but Exy was an extremely violent sport. Even though Andrew was spared a majority of the injuries as a goalie and probably could have extended his career another five years, he’d happily bowed out when their coaches and a host of previous injuries had finally compelled Neil into retirement. 

It was their first spring without championships, without Exy, and Andrew and Neil had agreed to spend it the way they’d spent every year of their lives since Neil had first appeared in Andrew’s life: together. So Andrew had rented a cabin, packed _their_ bag, and bundled Neil into the Maserati, driving them here in one shot. The cabin was situated a few miles from town, with a long winding driveway lined in trees and undeveloped land, providing a feeling of seclusion and privacy while still giving them access to farmer’s markets and spring festivals. That is, if they ever decided to venture out of the cabin. Andrew was looking forward to the rest, the relaxation, and sitting on that veranda with a cup of pink lemonade (Andrew was convinced it was sweeter than the normal lemonade) and reading one of the multitude of crime novels he’d brought with him. 

“Neil,” Andrew said, his voice melding with the harmony of bird song and the hum of cicadas filtering into the vehicle as Neil’s eyelids fluttered open. “We’re here.” Neil’s brilliant blue eyes turned to Andrew’s, a small warm smile gracing his face, and Andrew basked in that smile as Neil leaned over the consul to press a soft sleepy kiss to Andrew’s forehead.

They took their time looking around, Andrew dropping their bag in the living room as they wandered about the cabin. The cabin was huge: a fully furnished kitchen, an open concept basement complete with a pool table and ping pong, a master bedroom suite with a king sized bed, a full jacuzzi tub, and a set of french doors that opened onto the wraparound veranda overlooking the lake they’d glimpsed from the front. It was everything Andrew had hoped it would be from the online photos. He didn’t even bother to unpack their abandoned suitcase, choosing instead to draw Neil away from the french doors, claiming his mouth, pushing him onto the bed, and slowly taking him apart in the ways Andrew knew Neil loved. Eventually they curled up together, Andrew watching the moonlight dance over the lake as they drifted off to sleep. 

Unsurprisingly, the relaxation didn’t last nearly as long as Andrew would have preferred. After only a couple days holed up in their cabin - swimming in the lake, making out on the porch swing, Andrew reading crime novels to Neil as they watched the sunset from their veranda - Neil started getting a little stir crazy. He’d abandoned his early morning runs, content to wake up snuggled in Andrew’s arms, but quickly became restless as the days wore on; Neil was never meant for a sedentary lifestyle. 

After finishing his fourth book of the trip, Andrew finally agreed to go into town with Neil the next day, which is how he found himself walking through a - admittedly stunning - farmer’s market at 7 o’clock in the morning. Andrew had to concede that, despite the _obnoxiously_ early hour, he didn’t mind strolling down the street with Neil’s hand in his as Neil excitedly pointed at different stalls noting jams, preserves, fresh fruit, flowers, fresh bread, and anything else that caught his eye. They tried samples when offered; Neil bought Andrew a small jar of natural honey for his teas, and Andrew bought Neil a dark blue bearded iris that complemented his eyes - tucking it behind his ear as they walked. 

The day was serene, picturesque even, as if it had been stolen from a Van Gogh painting: the rolling hills around them covered in wildflowers and lily of the valley; the Farmer’s Market just starting to fill with customers. Neil and Andrew took up seats at an outdoor cafe and ordered pastries and coffee. Neil’s face was lit with a soft smile, the petals of the iris still tucked behind his ear and brushing against his cheek. Andrew’s smile was non-existent, but if you looked closely, the light in his hazel eyes spoke of a contentment born of years of security and unfathomable trust.

Of course Andrew never expected their retirement vacation to go completely according to plan, but it had been five days of peace and solitude: no press, no photographers, no autographs, no interviews. Naturally, that disappeared their first full day in town. They’d just finished their breakfast, the server walking away with their payment as they took the last couple sips of their coffee before heading out when Andrew noticed the flash of a camera: a photographer in sunglasses and a ballcap ducking under a shop awning across the street. 

“Well that didn’t take long,” Neil muttered as Andrew pointed out the paparazzi still trying and failing to blend in to the bustle of people across the street. “Through the back?” Neil suggested, waiting until a merchant with a cart full of bouquets ambled into their line of sight before slipping through the cafe and out the back door. Neil and Andrew were used to New York and the streaming streets of people, and they had made it an art form to see how quickly they could lose tails of paparazzi or enamored fans. However, this was not New York; it was a quaint Vermont countryside town, and it didn’t take them longer than a block to realize they had another tail.

“You’d think people would have better things to do with their lives than stalk two retired Exy players,” Neil ranted, ducking into storefronts and behind vendor stalls as the town set up for their Spring Festival. 

It was evident though, despite their efforts, that Andrew and Neil were gathering a following of four or five people that intermittently kept catching up to them. Although they had never been pointedly secret about their relationship, the press had caught on early to the Minyard-Josten rivalry and neither had believed it worth the effort to disabuse them of their notions. They’d let the press and the fans fuel the speculation, never bothering to tell them that not only were they not rivals, but they were married and had been since two years after they’d graduated college. The Minyard-Josten rivalry was really just the media’s misinterpretation of the Minyard-Josten household: two sassy and extraordinarily private professional players, two cats, and an ever growing succulent garden.

“Andrew, in here,” Neil motioned, slipping seamlessly into a line of people heading through the front gates of a vineyard. They melded inconspicuously with the crowd, Andrew pulling Neil through a side door and into the back hosting room of the main building before they could be ushered through the double doors back outside where rows of white lawn chairs lined an aisle leading to a trellis adorned with flowers and greenery. 

“Seriously, Neil, your grand escape plan was to crash some poor sucker’s wedding?” Andrew chided as they pressed themselves against the wall next to the door they’d slipped through, watching as wait staff and servers bustled around the room, obviously preparing for the reception that would follow the ceremony outside. 

“Well, it worked... right?” Neil asked, peeking back through the door to confirm none of their shadows had followed them into the wedding. 

“You do realize we are now trapped here, and someone will eventually realize we weren’t invited,” Andrew huffed, exasperated.

“Not if we find another way out. Let’s go,” Neil responded, heading off down the edge of the room towards more doors on the other side, one of which presumably had to be an exit. 

Andrew let Neil lead, and promptly wished he hadn’t as Neil pulled them through another door and crashed face-first into a harried young man. Neil lost his balance and only barely caught hold of the guy’s elbow to keep him from falling as Andrew did the same for Neil. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, are you okay? Wait, do I know you? No, nevermind, can you help me find my cufflinks? And my jacket... And maybe my boutonniere, but that’s probably with the jacket...” the man they’d run into blustered, eyes darting around him, the fingers of his right hand pulling unconsciously at the cuff of his tux shirt.

“You may also need shoes,” Andrew offered, taking in the man’s suit pants brushing against black socks and dragging against the wooden floor.

“Yes, shoes, I had those at one point,” the man muttered absently. 

Neil gave Andrew one backward glance, that was all the warning he was provided before the redhead offered them up as the man’s personal treasure hunters. The blond, tanned, curly-haired mess of a man they’d run into introduced himself as Jeremy, and Andrew reluctantly tagged along as Neil helped him search. 

They started with the standard places - the designated dressing room, the last areas Jeremy remembered being - but when that yielded no results they had to expand their search. The tux jacket - boutineer attached and shockingly still in pristine condition - was located over the back of a chair in a random hallway. The shoes were found on the counter in the men’s restroom as if Jeremy had set them down to wash his hands and left them there, forgotten. The cufflinks and Jeremy’s sky-blue bow tie were found at the bar in the reception hall, next to a barely started glass of wine. Andrew felt like he was stuck in that ridiculous country song about tequila making clothes fall off.

It was just as Andrew finished tying Jeremy’s bowtie for him - he’d been tying Neil’s for years as the red head was helpless with ties - when a young lady burst through the door, her face lighting up when she spied Jeremy.

“Jeremy, thank goodness there you are! Are you ready?” she asked, confirming into her headset that she’d located him. “Ceremony is starting bud, it’s almost time for your entrance.” 

“Yeah, I think I’m ready,” Jeremy said, taking stock of his reflection in the mirror, fastening the buttons on his tux jacket and adjusting the sleeves. 

“Go get ‘em,” Neil said in encouragement as Jeremy was ushered out of the door by the coordinator, and Neil and Andrew were finally left to their own devices. 

“So, Andrew, want to crash a wedding with me?” Neil asked teasingly, his smile taking over his cheeks. Andrew huffed in response but offered Neil his arm and followed at a distance behind the coordinator and Jeremy as they wound down a hall and back to the front entrance that led into the vineyard.

Andrew and Neil were able to sneak into the back, through the side doors where people had been entering earlier, and lean propped-up against the building - not daring to try to find open seats as the music changed and Jeremy started down the middle aisle. Jeremy walked alone, but the anxious, agitated version of the man that Andrew and Neil had seen was gone; Jeremy’s eyes were solely focused on the tall, black-haired man who awaited him at the altar, and it was as if that eye contact instilled in him the calm he’d been lacking all afternoon. 

The ceremony was short, sweet, heartfelt, and not entirely dissimilar to Neil and Andrew’s own wedding - although theirs had been in a courthouse with only a couple witnesses. Before they knew it, the newly married couple was exiting back down the aisle and Andrew took Neil’s hand to follow the crowd, slipping off to the side intending to disappear unnoticed before the reception began. 

They’d almost made it to the back door they’d located during their thorough search of the building when they heard a voice behind them calling their names. 

“Neil, Andrew, wait up!” Jeremy called excitedly, walking up to them with his hand clasped firmy around his new husband’s. “Jean, meet Neil and Andrew. They’re the ones I told you about who helped me find my things.”

Neil smiled and offered a hand to Jean, Andrew content to hover at his side. “It’s nice to meet you. Congratulations on the wedding,” Neil said smoothly. 

Jean took Neil’s hand and nodded his thanks before turning to Jeremy. “Jeremy, sweetie, are you telling me _Neil Josten_ and _Andrew Minyard_ , two of the most famous professional Exy players literally _ever_ , are the two guys who helped you get ready?” 

“WAIT! You’re Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard?” Jeremy asked incredulously, staring at them as Neil nodded in reluctant agreement.

“Well, I guess I owe you my gratitude for helping my hopeless husband make it to his own wedding on time,” Jean offered, his voice a blend of absolute disbelief and insufferable fondness, a tone Andrew recognized all too well. “Feel free to come to the reception, we have a buffet and an open bar, plus tons of cake because Jeremy couldn't make a decision.” 

“We weren’t planning on staying,” Neil said nodding towards the exit behind them. “We were just trying to avoid some paparazzi.”

“Well, at least take some food and cake with you, there is way more food than we could possibly ever eat. Then, if you want we can sneak you out the staff exit,” Jeremy offered. 

“Okay, thanks,” Andrew answered immediately, ignoring Neil, who chuckled at his quick acceptance; he knew full well that Andrew never refused free cake. The two waited as Jeremy went over to the girl from earlier, and a couple minutes later they were being handed bags of food and escorted behind the bar to the only door in the place they hadn’t been through on their treasure hunt. 

Jeremy and Jean escorted them out personally, their guests having started through the buffet line and getting drinks, the entire reception more akin to a college party than a standard reception. 

“Thanks again for the help,” Jeremy said as he opened the back door for them, pointing out a side road that would take them back towards their car without getting caught on the main road. 

Neil waved as they walked away and Andrew slipped his arm around Neil’s waist as they meandered down the side street. He would have thought he imagined the words he barely heard from the doorway behind them if Neil hadn’t turned to Andrew - the smile on his face turning into a full blown laugh. A laugh Andrew would suffer through a million days like this one to hear again and again.

“I can’t believe Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard crashed our wedding. No one is ever going to believe us.”

**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me on tumblr at [makebelieveanything](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/makebelieveanything). Leave kudos or a comment if you like it.


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